


Your Moonlit Backseat Always Leaves Me

by reversecow



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Anal Sex, Car Sex, Fluff, M/M, Miscommunication, Pining, Smut, so much fluff you'll die this is cheesy and fuzzy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:41:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24860992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reversecow/pseuds/reversecow
Summary: Ashton's been completely spellbound by Calum Hood ever since he started working with Michael at the Jumping Bean. He can never tell him though, not when Calum's ridiculously, painfully out of his league.-----Very very fluffy silly obligatory coffee shop AU where Ashton pines and Calum is beautiful.
Relationships: Calum Hood/Ashton Irwin, Michael Clifford/Luke Hemmings
Comments: 11
Kudos: 81





	Your Moonlit Backseat Always Leaves Me

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Powerless by Waterparks.

“You know, you could just talk to him. He’s just a person.”

Michael’s voice startles Ashton out of his trance where he’s staring at Calum Hood making a chai latte. Michael’s wiping the counter Ashton’s resting his elbows on and giving him a pointed look. Ashton sighs, shaking his head and looking back at Calum.

“Just a person? Mike, he’s a  _ dream.”  _

Calum had started working with Michael at the Jumping Bean about a month ago and ever since then, Ashton found himself visiting much more frequently. Calum had the most lovely smile he’d ever seen in his life, sparkling deep brown eyes and pouty lips that looked so incredibly kissable it hurt Ashton sometimes. He was tall, maybe even a few inches taller than Ashton, and he spoke almost as if he was always about to tell a joke. The few times Ashton had actually managed to speak to him, he’d been absolutely captivated. 

Michael clears his throat and swats the counter with the towel, making Ashton jump. “I feel like you’d be more successful in your intrapersonal relationships if you weren’t so dramatic a hundred percent of the time,” he tells Ashton, mocking his sigh. 

Ashton frowns. “You’re one to talk.”

Michael gives him an affronted look. “Hmph.”

Ashton shakes his head, looking back at Calum with stars in his eyes, watching him hand the latte over to the customer, giving her an angelic grin. 

“Oh my god, just ask him out,” Michael pleads with him.

Ashton scoffs. “I can’t, he’s too pretty.”

Michael nods. “See, that’s what I said about Luke. Then I took him to Antonio’s for lunch two times and he blew me on the couch.” He fixes Ashton with a sincere gaze. “You could have that, too.”

“Fingers crossed,” Ashton says in a monotone voice. 

Michael shrugs. “I’m just saying, nothing’s gonna happen if you don’t put yourself out on a limb.”

“I hate limbs,” Ashton tells him. “I’m very happy hugging the trunk of my metaphorical tree, thank you, Michael.”

“Who’s hugging trees?” Ashton looks over and his breath catches in his throat when he sees Calum’s joined them. He does his best to affix a smile to his face, and Calum smiles back easily. 

“Ashton,” Michael answers. “He’s sexually attracted to plants.”

Ashton’s face turns bright red.

“Oh.” Calum nods. “Cool!”

Ashton sputters. “No, I’m not!”

Calum nods again. “That’s cool, too.”

He leaves them to go help the next customer, an eldery lady who’s just walked over to the counter, and Ashton turns to Michael, glaring daggers at him. “I’m gonna poison you.”

He gets up and gathers his things, stuffing his laptop into his bag and giving Michael one last glare and Calum one last wistful glance before he heads out the door. 

Michael waves him off with a grin and a kiss blown in Ashton’s direction. “See you at home, honey!"

\----------

  
  


“So, Michael tells me you’re in love.”

Ashton looks over at Luke, who’s cuddled into Michael on the couch, eating lasagna off of one of Ashton and Michael’s dinosaur plates. Luke’s waiting for a response, chewing his noodles slowly and looking at Ashton with raised eyebrows. 

Ashton picks at his own lasagna. “Michael tells me you blew him on the couch after two dates.”

Luke nods smugly, leaning back further into Michael. “Yup.”

Ashton shakes his head. “I’m not in love,” he says. “To be clear. I just like looking at him. And hearing him talk. He has a nice voice.” He stuffs a bit of his dinner in his mouth before he adds, “ and he told me he liked my bracelet once.” He says it in an offhanded tone, as if it hadn’t been the highlight of his day when it happened. 

Luke raises his eyebrows and looks at Michael with faux awe. 

Michael returns his expression, nodding. “I  _ know _ . I think it’s starting to get serious.”

Ashton flings a piece of lasagna noodle at him and Michael rolls his eyes. “Really?”

Ashton huffs. “You’re so mean. I wasn’t like this when you were pining after Luke.”

Luke preens. “You were pining after me?”

Michael shrugs. “Mostly after your ass. I was going through a dry spell and you kept wearing tight pants,” he sighs wistfully, “the way you do.”

“Awww.” Luke pecks his on the cheek and feeds him a bite of his dinner lovingly. 

Ashton shakes his head. “Romance really isn’t dead.”

They ignore him, lost in each other, cuddled so far into each other they might as well be one single being, and Ashton studies them sadly. He wants to cuddle. Preferably with a barista with dark hair and adorable smile lines and a little paw print pin on the lapel of his apron. 

“I’m just gonna talk to him for you,” Michael says, apparently noticing his forlorn expression. “See if he’s interested.”

Ashton shakes his head, immediately feeling panicked. “You can’t. What if he’s not. I’ll die.” He waves his fork at Michael for emphasis. “I’ll  _ die _ , Michael.”

Michael holds up his hands in surrender. “Fine. Wallow.”

“I will,” Ashton sniffs, chewing his food miserably. 

“You’re being stupid, Ashton,” Luke pipes up. “You’re a hottie, I’m sure he’s interested.”

“Excuse you,” Michael says indignantly, looking at Luke with betrayal in his eyes. Luke’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head. 

“I mean, I wouldn’t be. You’re not that cute,” he stammers, trying to backpedal and save himself. Ashton can see Michael fighting against a smile and plays into his game a little. 

“Excuse me?” he asks, crossing his arms defensively. 

Luke looks like he’s about to cry, his eyes darting nervously between Ashton and Michael and they let it go on for a few more moments before they both dissolve into giggles. Luke’s shoulders relax and he pouts, finally giggling slightly himself before he lifts himself off Michael’s lap, grabbing Ashton’s empty plate along with theirs and heading to the kitchen to wash them.

“Fuck you both!” he calls out to them before he disappears out of sight. 

“You would!” Michael yells back, watching him go with a dreamy look in his eyes.

\----------

Michael’s not working on Wednesday but Ashton goes by the coffee shop anyways...because he needs coffee. That’s why. He may have already made some for himself in the morning, but, as he tells himself, walking quickly towards the Jumping Bean, he’s not nearly caffeinated enough for the day ahead. If Calum happens to be behind the counter, that would make absolutely no difference, really, because he’s only going for coffee. 

Calum  _ is  _ behind the counter, he sees when he peeks through the window and watches a head of brown curly hair bopping along to whatever’s playing inside. He smiles wider when he enters the cafe and hears Gwen Stefani’s Early Winter playing and the concentrated look on Calum’s face as he dances. Calum looks up when Ashton reaches the counter and smiles.

“Hey!” he says, giving Ashton an award winning smile. Ashton smiles back and Calum points to his chest. “Hey, I like your shirt.”

“My shirt?” Ashton repeats, feeling a slight panic sink in when he can’t remember what he’s wearing, Calum looking at him expectantly. Oh god. What kind of person can’t remember the clothes that they’re wearing. Calum’s going to think he’s an absolute idi- 

It feels like forever passes before he remembers he’s capable of looking down at his own body and see what he has on. It’s a Simple Creatures shirt. He breathes a sigh of relief.

“They’ve got a cool sound,” Calum supplies in the silence and Ashton nods. 

“They do! I’m uh...thinking about seeing them live when they come to town in May,” he croaks, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. 

“Oh, awesome!” Calum chirps. “I’d love to go to that show!”

If he was normal, he might suggest they go together, but Calum’s much too pretty, and as he stands there looking at Ashton with such a sweet expression on his lovely face, Ashton finds himself shrinking slightly at the idea that someone else might take Calum to the concert. Maybe somebody artsy and cool and athletic who rides a motorcycle and reads poetry or something. Calum deserves the underdog protagonist from an early 2000’s rom com and Ashton can’t even remember what clothes he’s wearing. 

“So, can I get you something?” Calum asks, cocking his head to the side like a curious puppy, and Ashton feels himself melt a little. 

“Oh. Uh. Hmm.” He suddenly feels much too jittery for coffee, his weight shifting from foot to foot nervously. “Muffin?”

Calum nods. “Any particular type?”

Ashton laughs nervously and Calum looks slightly confused. Ashton remembers the question after a few seconds and hastens to answer, giving the first type of muffin he can remember. 

“Blue...berry?” he says tentatively, and Calum smiles. 

“You sure about that?” he asks. 

“Berry sure,” Ashton confirms, immediately burying his head in his hands in shame as soon as Calum turns his back to grab his food from the glass display case. He pays Calum quickly, keeping his head down, his cheeks flaming, and gives Calum a tortured smile and an awkward wave as he leaves the Jumping Bean, feeling like he could crawl into a hole and sleep for a hundred years. 

\----------

Michael’s sitting next to Ashton on the couch, typing out a message on his phone while Ashton pays half attention to a rerun of America’s Next Top Model playing on the TV, braiding his own slightly long hair lazily while he watches a girl on the screen get a life changing makeover.

“How do you think I’d look with straight across bangs?” he asks Michael, doing his best to arrange his hair on his forehead in a sort of preview to what that might look like. 

Michael studies him. “Bad. They’d probably bring out your cheekbones but I think you’d regret them very quickly. Impossible to style right every day.” He taps something else out on his phone. “Luke’s coming over in a few minutes, by the way.”

“Is he ever not coming over?” Ashton yawns, looking back at the TV where a girl is crying about her new pixie cut.

“No,” Michael says. “Sometimes he’s already over. But he’s bringing a friend.”

Ashton looks at him suspiciously. “A friend who?”

A grin spreads over Michael’s face and he raises his eyebrows, starting to mimic pouring a drink and stirring something into it exaggeratedly, handing Ashton an imaginary cup and winking. 

“No,” Ashton says, horrified. 

Michael grins, mouth wide open, and nods his head slowly. 

“Mike, no. You didn’t,” Ashton pleads, standing up from the couch, his mind racing. There’s no way Luke’s bringing Calum over, to his apartment, in a matter of minutes. They wouldn’t do that to him. 

Michael’s still grinning when he says, “Calum’s new in town! He needs friends!” Apparently, they would do that to him. 

“And I need Ativan!” Ashton groans, racing off to his room to change out of his ratty t-shirt and into a much cuter, dark green sweater. He fumbles with his hair, picking the braids out of it quickly, and races to the bathroom to brush his teeth, doing a quick once over to make sure there’s nothing embarrassing lying around in case Calum uses it. In case Calum Hood uses his bathroom. He whimpers, looking at himself in the mirror with terrified eyes. 

He hears the front door open and close again, hears Luke’s loud voice carrying through the apartment, and then a softer, slightly shy one reply, chuckling slightly. Calum’s voice. Ashton might die tonight. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be happening in the next minute or so, so he takes a deep breath and clears his throat, walking out of the bathroom and into the living room, where Calum is standing with Michael and Luke, holding a box of Wheat Thins and smiling pleasantly. He looks possibly even better out of his work uniform than in it. He’s wearing an unbearably soft looking black shirt and tight jeans that make Ashton’s eyes glaze over slightly and a little wistful noise accidentally fall from his lips. 

Calum turns when he hears it and smiles even bigger. “Ashton!” he calls out. 

“Ashton!” Ashton says back. Nope. That’s his own name. He feels his cheeks turn bright red and fights the urge to run into his room and lock the door. Calum just smiles at him, a little confused.

Michael puts his head in his hands and shakes it, looking disappointed already. “This is gonna be a long night,” Ashton hears him whisper. 

Ashton volunteers to make frozen pizza for them in the kitchen, mostly so he can be alone to try to collect himself while the other three settle in the living room. He runs his hands through his hair once the pizza is in the oven and leans against the counter. He’s lost in his own thoughts, trying to work out how he’s going to survive the night when Calum meanders into the kitchen, still holding his box of Wheat Thins. 

“Hey,” Calum says, almost shyly. 

Ashton jumps in spite of himself, startled.

“Sorry!” Calum says regretfully. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He holds up the box of crackers. “I brought you these. I don’t really know how to cook anything but I felt like I should bring you something anyways.”

That’s probably the most adorable thing Ashton’s ever seen in his life. Calum Hood, standing in his kitchen, offering him a small box of crackers as a thank you gift. Ashton finds himself melting slightly. 

“Thanks, that’s really thoughtful,” he says, smiling at Calum. “Hang on.”

He rummages around in a cupboard until he finds a small bowl painted with little daisies. He takes the crackers from Calum and pours them in the bowl, popping one in his mouth and making a noise of contentment, just to be sure Calum knows how appreciated his crackers are. Calum beams, rocking on his toes a bit. 

“Thanks for having me over, by the way,” he tells Ashton. “Michael told me you worked early today, you must be tired.”

Ashton shakes his head, “Oh, not too tired. I wake up early most days.”

“Oh? What do you do?” Calum asks him, and he seems genuinely interested, a fact which mystifies Ashton but pleases him nonetheless.

“I work in accounting for a local radio station,” he responds. “What-”

He almost asks Calum what he does before he remembers that he already knows. Luckily, Calum now seems preoccupied by the pizza he takes out of the oven and doesn’t notice the start to the sentence Ashton never finishes. 

“That must be cool, huh?” Calum says.

Ashton nods, shrugging, “It pays the bills. And I like it enough. Do you wanna bring these out so we can have them with dinner?” he asks, handing the Wheat Thins to Calum, who takes them carefully, nodding with a smile. 

“Awesome, I’ll be out in a minute with the pizza,” he tells Calum.

Calum heads back into the living room with the crackers, munching on them. Ashton takes a deep breath and loads up four plates, balancing them on his arms like a waiter and walking them out to the living room, where Luke, Michael and Calum are sitting on the carpet. He makes sure to give Calum the stegosaurus plate because it’s objectively the coolest one. Calum gives him a smile and a quiet ‘thanks’ that makes his heart flutter as he sits on the carpet between him and Luke. 

Michael raises his eyebrows and gestures at Calum’s food. “That’s the best plate. You must be pretty special.” Calum grins happily, taking a bite of his pizza and shrugging. He’s so pretty. Too pretty. 

They talk while they eat, conversation that thankfully serves to make Ashton feel slightly more comfortable around Calum, the possibility that he’s maybe a human being and not an angel growing a little stronger as he laughs at Luke’s stupid jokes and picks the olives on his pizza off so he can eat them in nibbles like a squirrel. Still, even with him being a human, he’s still a very, very cute one, and when Michael suggests they play Trivial Pursuit, and that he and Luke are going to be a team, his heart flip flops a little bit. 

It’s obvious Michael is just doing it to force him and Calum together, as Luke is absolutely terrible at the game and Michael normally delights in beating him at it. This is further confirmed when Calum and Luke are setting up the board and Michael winks obnoxiously at Ashton, who narrows his eyes and pointedly ignores him. 

The game goes well, Calum seems to know a lot of niche trivia which Ashton is glad about; he detests losing Trivial Pursuit. Luke and Michael are putting up a valiant effort but are nearing the point where it’s almost impossible to win, choosing instead to feed each other Wheat Thins from the daisy bowl and pay only half attention to the game. 

“Okay, Luke,” Ashton starts, holding up a question card. “In 1987, which global treaty phased out ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)?”

Luke looks at him blankly, chewing on a Wheat Thin. “Chloro-who?”

Ashton has no idea what it means but he decides to pretend he does. “If you don’t know, I’m not going to tell you.”

Michael gives him a look, seeing right through him but Luke seems to think he knows what it is and tries guessing. “Chloro...fluoro...is it about plants or teeth?” he asks. 

“That couldn't be further from the answer,” Ashton tells him, looking at the back of the card. 

Calum tuts, reading the card along with him. “You should get negative points.”

“Leave him alone,” Michael defends, “He’s got a fat ass, he doesn’t need to be smart.”

“Yeah!” Luke says. “Wait, hey-”

Michael kisses his cheek lovingly and stands up. “We’ve gotta go to bed soon, Lukey, will you help me finish dishes?”

“Course,” Luke says, taking the hands Michael has outstretched to him and lets him pull him to his feet. They both leave the room quickly, giggling to each other, and Ashton is left alone with Calum. Calum, who looks good and smells good and might give Ashton a heart attack with the bashful way he’s staring at his knees. 

“I, uh. I should actually get going, I’ve got work early in the morning tomorrow,” Calum says, and he sounds almost sad about it. Ashton definitely is, already missing his company even when he’s still sitting next to him on the floor. 

“Oh, then you should,” he says, not meaning it. “That’s a good idea.” It isn’t. 

“But, uh. I had a lot of fun tonight,” Calum tells him. “With you.”

Yeah, they’re a fun bunch, Ashton thinks. Everyone likes hanging out with Luke and Michael, they’re a dynamic duo. But it makes him happy that Calum included him in the fun he had. 

“Would you want to hang out sometime this week?” Calum asks him, “Just the two of us?”

Ashton blinks at him but recovers quickly. He doesn’t dare to let himself believe that he’s being asked out, there’s no way Calum would be interested in dating him. But he’d be happy to spend any time with him at all, even if all they’re going to be is friends, and he nods eagerly. “Yeah! Yeah, that would be awesome.”

Calum grins. “Gimme your phone.’

Ashton fumbles for it in his pocket and hands it over, dropping it to the carpet before Calum has a good grip in it. “Shit, sorry, here,” he mumbles, face turning pink, picking it up again and handing it to him. Calum chuckles a little bit and types his number in. Ashton watches, amazed. 

“Text me when you’re free, okay?” Calum says, getting to his feet and stretching. Ashton follows his lead, standing and nodding in confirmation. 

“When I’m free. Okay. Yeah,” he agrees, feeling a bit dazed. 

Calum gives him a little wave and then pokes his head into the kitchen. “Guys! I’m heading out!”

Ashton hears Luke and Michael say goodbye to him and he smiles one more time at Ashton, waving again before he goes, shutting the front door quietly behind himself. 

Ashton falls back on the couch and Michael and Luke race out of the kitchen. Michael falls across Ashton’s lap and Luke slaps his feet excitedly. 

“Ow!” Ashton yaps, batting his hands away. 

“He asked you out!” Luke squeals, not ceasing his assault on Ashton’s feet. 

Ashton shakes his head. “No, he didn’t. He asked me to  _ hang  _ out. There’s a difference.”

Michael frowns at him. “No, there isn’t.”

“Yes, there is,” Ashton insists. “I asked my mom to hang out last week.”

Michael rolls his eyes. “Okay, well that’s weird. You don’t hang out with your mom, you visit her. Even if it’s in public, you call it a visit.”

“I hang out with my mom!” Luke pipes up.

Michael groans. “God, both of you, shut up. That’s not the point.” He pushes his finger in Ashton’s face, poking his nose with each word for emphasis. “The point is he asked you out. He wants it to just be the two of you.”

“Yeah, as friends,” says Ashton, and Michael lets out a soft wail of annoyance.

“You’re hopeless,” he laments.

Luke slaps Ashton’s feet again.

“ _ Ow,”  _ he chastises, glaring at Luke, but Luke just looks back at him with a knowing expression. “I might hang out with my mom, but Michael’s right. You've got a date.”

Ashton just shakes his head. There’s no way it’s a date. They can say whatever they want about it, but the fact of the matter is, Calum Hood is way out of his league, and he knows it. 

\----------

For it not being a date, Calum’s acting very date-like, and it’s stressful, because Ashton keeps having to remind himself that it’s not one. They’re at a diner and Calum’s sitting across from him looking stunning, acting like this is easy for him to do. That’s one of the reasons Ashton knows it isn’t a date. He feels like his heart is beating a mile a minute and Calum’s sitting across from him, cool as a cucumber. He’s munching on fries and talking about gardening, which seems to be a hobby that’s near and dear to his heart. Ashton’s done his best, thus far, not to blatantly stare at his lips the whole evening. He hopes it’s working. 

“...and that’s how I knew I had a green thumb. Cacti love me, I guess,” Calum says happily, popping another fry in his mouth. 

Ashton realizes he’s been zoning out, his plan to not stare not working very well, and he focuses back in. “I’ve never been very good with plants. I had a lemon tree once, but she died,” he tells Calum, poking at the ice left over in his cup with his straw.

“She?” Calum asks.

Ashton nods. “Edith. She was a beauty in her prime.” He kisses his fingers and holds them up to the sky in a salute to Edith’s memory, and Calum giggles adorably. His nerves ease up a little and he exhales the breath he’s been holding. Maybe he can do the friend thing with Calum, maybe he can be around him without losing his wits completely. 

“How long did you have Edith?” Calum asks him, and Ashton bops his head from side to side. 

“Oh, only four months or so,” he says.

Calum shakes his head and sighs sadly. “She was so young.”

Ashton nods and smiles. “So, do you have any pets?” It’s unfair, really, because he’s already spent plenty of time studying Calum’s Instagram account, and he already knows about his dog, seeing as he’s in every other picture Calum posts. He also doesn’t want to seem like he’s too invested, because that’s not what casual friends do, so he plays ignorant, asking the question as if he has no idea what the answer will be.

Of course, Calum’s eyes go wide and he fishes out his phone. “Yes!” he says excitedly, tapping a few icons and scrolling for a second before he shoves a picture of his dog in Ashton’s face. “That’s Duke, he’s my dog. And my best friend,” he says happily. 

Ashton grins, admiring the picture of Duke, who’s splayed out on Calum’s couch, tummy up and a smile on his adorable face. “He’s really cute,” Ashton says.

“I know,” Calum says proudly, taking his phone back and scrolling some more. He shows Ashton four more pictures of Duke from various angles, looking very pleased every time Ashton coos at the pictures, telling him how adorable his dog is. Ashton doesn’t let him in on the fact that some of the cooing was directed towards Calum, and that he’s probably not seen anything more precious than the look on his face when Ashton pays his dog a compliment.

  
  


Once he slides his phone back in his pocket, Calum says, “I’ve been trying to organize a doggy play-date with Luke. I want him to have more friends, he’s not very social with other dogs but I think he could be. He’s got such a personality, I wish he’d share it more.”

He talks about Duke like he’s his son. Ashton finds it impossible not to smile as he listens. “That’s a good idea,” he says, making a mental note to tell Luke he has to get it together and give Calum his doggy play-date. The fact that he didn’t do it within four seconds of Calum asking is probably a crime. 

“Since we moved, he’s been missing his old friends,” Calum says. “He can be kind of shy and resistant to new friendships, but one of my friends from back home used to walk him with her dogs. He loved walk days.”

Ashton tests the waters. “I’d love to meet him someday. Maybe I could be a new friend.” 

Calum beams. “I’d like that.”

Just like he wants to be friends with Ashton, too. Just friends. Ashton sighs internally and changes the subject. “What made you move?”

Calum shrugs. “Rent got too expensive where I was. And I guess I needed a change, too. Life was getting too stagnant.”

“It seems like you’re settling in pretty well,” Ashton offers, fiddling with a shred of his paper napkin.

Calum nods. “So far, yes. I’m glad I wound up here.” He smiles easily at Ashton. “I’m glad I met you.”

It’s so earnest it kind of takes Ashton aback and he almost chokes on the chicken he’s just taken a bite of. He coughs, eyes watering. “Yeah, um, me too.” For some reason, it feels too honest coming from him. Like Calum can see right through him, knows he’s not saying it in a platonic way like Calum was. “And I know Luke and Michael are glad you’re here too. They’re glad you met them.”

Calum looks a little confused but nods slowly. He probably noticed the fact that Ashton almost just choked and died but he’s too polite to say anything, which Ashton is grateful for. “Yeah, them too,” he says, shrugging. It’s quiet for a moment before he taps his fingers on the table and looks up at Ashton seriously. “Do you wanna get dessert?”

Calum shows him a cookie shop just a few blocks down the road, with cookies the size of Ashton’s head. They have some bizarre flavor combinations and some basic ones- Calum gets a honey infused cookie with little rose petals and almond slivers scattered throughout it and Ashton winds up getting a s'mores flavored one. He’s picking the marshmallows off the top and eating them first while they walk, Calum insisting on walking him home. It’s sweet of him, in a friendly way. It makes Ashton think maybe they can do this again. Maybe Ashton can fit into his life, even if it’s not the way he might want. 

“So, what’s your favorite number?” Calum asks him, chewing happily on his cookie. 

“My favorite number?” Ashton repeats, slightly confused.

Calum nods. “You said you do accounting for the radio station. I suppose most people ask you radio-centric questions but I thought I’d cater to your job a little more. I also know nothing about accounting except it has numbers. So, what’s your favorite?”

“Hmmm,” Ashton thinks for a moment. “Maybe four?”

Calum makes a judgemental noise. ”Not quite what I was expecting.”

“No?”

Calum shakes his head. “I thought you’d go bigger. Choosing four makes me question if you even know more numbers. That’s a kid number,” he teases, glancing at Ashton playfully.

“Okay, fine,” Ashton says, “ten thousand and two.”

Calum nods his head, looking satisfied. “Now you’re talking. But I also know you’re lying to me.”

Ashton sighs and shakes his head when they reach his door. “You know, you’re a hard man to please.” 

Calum shrugs. “Nah, not really. I’m pretty happy right now,” he smiles easily. He looks Ashton right in the eye when he says it, and it almost knocks Ashton back, how warm and deep brown his eyes are, and he feels like he might drown. He feels himself blush and clears his throat, shoving a bit of graham cracker in his mouth and staying silent. 

“I had fun tonight,” Calum tells him. “We should hang out again, soon, if you want to.”

Ashton nods. Hang out. Exactly as he suspected.

“Yeah!” He agrees. “Yeah, that sounds great. I can ask Luke and Michael if they want to come too.” It might be good to have a buffer next time, because there’s nothing more he wants to do right now than lean in and kiss Calum, taste the honey flavor on his tongue and run his hands down his back. But this was strictly platonic, and it would probably be good to have Luke and Michael around more often, to curb his impulses. 

“Oh!” Calum nods his head at the suggestion. “Yeah, sure, that sounds good.”

He’s not leaving, still standing on Ashton’s doorstep with him like he’s waiting for something, and Ashton clears his throat. “Do you...um...do you want me to walk you home?”

Calum chuckles. ”That would kind of defeat the purpose of me walking you home, wouldn’t it?”

“Oh. Probably,” Ashton says, shifting from one foot to the other. 

“I’ll text you, yeah?” Calum tells him, and Ashton nods as Calum backs away from the door, giving him a little wave before he turns and starts towards home. Ashton watches him leave for a minute before he opens the door and goes inside, slumping against the wood once he’s in and sighs loudly.

Michael’s in the living room, playing Call Of Duty, but he pauses it when he sees Ashton and looks at him excitedly. “Well? How was it? Did you propose?”

Ashton sighs. “Yes, Michael, I proposed. We’re having a spring wedding. Be sure to wear your jauntiest bonnet.”

Michael rolls his eyes and waves off the comment. “Okay, seriously. How did it go?” he asks, resting his head in his hands and looking up at Ashton from the couch with rapt attention. 

Ashton doesn’t answer him, just flops on the couch next to him, grabbing a pillow and hugging it close. “Where’s Luke?”

Michael frowns. “Living his own life? We’re not  _ always  _ together.”

Luke walks out of the kitchen just then with a pop tart. Ashton raises his eyebrows at Michael.

“He was in there for at least ten minutes,” Michael defends himself.

“Three,” Luke corrects him, sitting on the couch next to Michael, who looks at him reproachfully. He ignores him, taking a bite of his pop tart and fixing Ashton with an expectant look. “How was your date?”

“Very platonic,” Ashton assures them. “Just like he wants it to be and will always want it to be.”

Michael groans. “Okay, not to burst your bubble,” he says, “but yesterday at work he referred to it as a date and told me he thought you were hot.”

Ashton sputters, “He did not.” There’s no way he did. And he definitely doesn’t need Michael lying to him or trying to boost his ego or do something dumb like tell Calum how he feels only to get rejected.

“I swear I’m not lying,” Michael says, holding up his hand like a boy scout. “I didn’t tell you before cause I didn’t want you to sweat even more than you already were, but it’s true.”

“I wasn’t  _ sweating,  _ I just…” Ashton frowns. “You really don’t have to lie to make me feel better.”

Michael leans forward with his game controller in his hand, speaking with an even, calm tone. “Ashton Irwin. There’s nothing that I want to do more right now than shove this  _ so _ far up your ass.”

“Excuse me?,” Ashton says, indignant. 

“You’re infuriating!” Michael shouts, “I don’t even want to finish my game! That’s how much I want to do it!”

Luke, having licked the last of the pop tart frosting from his fingers, takes the controller from Michael’s hand and kisses him on the cheek. “Babe. Maybe it’s time for bed?”

Michael sighs, getting up and stretching, pointing a finger at Ashton. “You went on a date tonight,” he says before he follows Luke to his bedroom, shutting the door behind them and leaving Ashton alone in the living room

Ashton crosses his arms. As much as he wants Michael to be right, as much as he wants to believe someone like Calum could be interested in him, want him back just as much as Ashton wants him, there’s just no way. He pulls out his phone, staring at Calum’s contact, trying to think of the most platonic group hangout setting he possibly can. 

\----------

A bowling alley had seemed like the perfect place for a night of platonic fun. The pizza was slightly too greasy and the hard plastic benches didn’t leave a lot of room for romantic intent, or at least that’s what Ashton had thought when he’d suggested they all go bowling together. However, he had underestimated how good Calum would look when he concentrated hard on the game, his brows furrowed and his biceps flexing in his tight red tee. It had made the night thus far very frustrating. Ashton was continually having to check and make sure he wasn’t drooling when Calum looked his way, or staring at his ass in his tight jeans when he wasn’t facing him, so as to avoid Michael’s mocking eyes. 

He’s sitting on one of the hard yellow plastic benches right now, next to Luke, who’s picking at his pizza, and he’s watching Calum and Michael from a slight distance while Calum waits for his ball to spit back out of the machine and Michael does a little dance to ‘Take On Me’, playing from the alley speakers.

“He has the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. Doesn’t he?” Ashton sighs, watching Calum laugh at Michael’s dance.

Luke shrugs, taking a bite of pizza. “He’s reasonably cute. I’m glad you think that, though. Considering you’re dating him.”

Ashton sighs again. “ _ Imagine.” _

Luke shakes his head, chewing. “Hopeless.”

Calum gets a strike on his next turn and he and Michael cheer loudly and obnoxiously. He jumps in the air excitedly, turning to look at Ashton, smiling and waving. Ashton waves back, feeling himself melt into a puddle of fond goo on the bench. 

His turn comes up and he walks past Calum, who’s still riding the high of his strike. “If you find yourself needing pointers, let me know,” Calum says with an air of smugness that only he could make adorable. 

Ashton chuckles. “I think I can hold my own, thanks.”

He can’t. He gets a gutterball. To Calum’s credit, he only laughs and doesn’t join in when Michael and Luke start chanting Ash-ton smashed-none over and over. Ashton pouts and slides into the bench next to him, and Calum gives him a radiant grin.

“It was a good effort, Ash! So close!” he patronizes. Ashton is about to tease him back when Calum rests a hand on his thigh as if in comfort and he feels his whole body tense up, every part of his brain focused on where Calum is touching him. His hand is warm through the rough fabric of Ashton’s jeans, and Ashton knows, just  _ knows  _ that Calum would be warm everywhere else, too. There’s something about him that looks so cozy all the time, like he’d be heaven to cuddle. To touch. 

Ashton clears his throat and stands up, Calum’s touch suddenly too much for him to handle. “Anyone want more pizza? Drinks? I’m buying,” he asks, and walks off after Michael asks him for a root beer. Calum and Luke decline his offer, Calum looking slightly confused at Ashton’s sudden determination for snacks. When Ashton returns with Michael’s drink and a pack of gummy bears for himself, he almost breathes a sigh of relief when Calum’s back at the lane, ready to take his next shot, and he watches miserably, chewing on his gummy bears. He misses Calum’s warmth, but, as he keeps telling himself, he’s being smart. If he doesn’t let himself get too close, he can’t yearn too much. Right?

His plan of evading Calum’s personal space works pretty well until they all pile back into Michael’s car to go home. Ashton had taken the front seat on the way over, but Luke called shotgun this time, leaving the back to Ashton and Calum. Calum is in the middle of showing Ashton some pictures of a pond he found the other day. Usually people showing Ashton scenery pics bores him to tears, but not when it’s Calum. Somehow everything he does makes Ashton go moony-eyed, and this is no exception.

“See that stump over there?” Calum asks, leaning closer to Ashton so he can point it out. Ashton can smell him, and he smells warm and cedary and sweet. He wants to wrap himself around Calum. “There was a little squirrel there, but he left right before I could take the pictures,” Calum tells him sadly.

“Probably tired of the paparazzi,” Ashton points out. “You should be ashamed.”

“Oh, I was,” Calum says very seriously. “I gave myself a time-out on that stump for half an hour after this was taken.”

They’re sitting so close, and Calum’s so warm, and he smells so good and Ashton feels weak. He giggles helplessly at the joke. Calum smiles at him from under his lashes and puts his hand on Ashton’s, rubbing his thumb over the knuckles. Ashton feels his breath catch in his throat and he feels his face burning in embarrassment, hoping to god Calum can’t hear how hard his heart is pounding. 

“Cal, we’re at your place,” Michael says, and Ashton realizes the car is parked.

Calum straightens up, shaking his head a little like he needs to clear it. “Oh! Right! Okay, uh.” He lingers in the backseat, biting his lip while he looks at Ashton. “I’ll, um. I’ll see you soon?”

Ashton nods. “Yeah, I’ll text you. We should do something soon.”

Calum smiles, and it’s dimple heavy and perfect. He climbs out of Michael’s car and they all watch him unlock his door and go inside before Michael turns around in his seat, craning his neck and looking at Ashton. 

“So?” he asks, eyebrows raised.

“So?” Ashton replies.

“What were you talking about back there?” Michael prods. “You looked cozy.”

Ashton shrugs. “He was just showing me some pictures.” And he  _ was.  _ Friends show each other pictures all the time. Unfortunately. 

Michael sticks out his tongue suggestively. “Pictures?” he asks, winking at Ashton.

Ashton rolls his eyes. “Can you drive?”

“Barely,” Luke mutters as Michael starts the engine, narrowly avoiding a trash can as he heads for home.

“Hey!” Michael protests.

Ashton lets his mind wander as Michael and Luke fall into a teasing back and forth about his driving skills. He falls into bed that night still trying to figure out something they could all do together soon that wouldn't make him look too eager, and trying to rid himself of the phantom touch of Calum’s hand on his that he can still feel, hours later. 

\----------

**You: Hey, it’s me**

**You: Ashton**

He stares at his phone, chewing on his pinky fingernail as he stares at the sent messages, waiting for Calum to respond. 

**Calum :): I assumed. We’ve texted before**

**“** Stupid,” Ashton whispers to himself as he taps on the keyboard. 

**You: Right**

**Calum :): What’s up?**

**You: There’s a county fair going on right now**

**Calum :): I saw!**

**You: I thought maybe we could go? If you’re up for it**

He chews more aggressively on his fingernail, trying to push away the feeling that Calum will turn him down, that maybe he did something at the bowling alley that he wasn’t aware of and Calum doesn’t want to be his friend anymore. 

**Calum :): I’d love to :)**

Ashton exhales.

**You: Thursday night?**

**Calum :): Sounds perfect**

**You: Great! I’ll double check with Michael**

**Calum :): Michael?**

**You: Yeah, he and Luke thought of it**

**Calum :): Oh**

Ashton looks at his phone, confused as to the short response unil Calum sends another message and he shrugs it off. 

**Calum :): Okay! Let me know details when you have them!**

**Calum :): Looking forward to seeing you**

**You: So are we!**

**Calum :): :)**

**\----------**

Ashton’s going to work on Wednesday and he stops by the coffee shop quickly. He really hadn’t had time to make his at home this time. Calum’s there, as Ashton knew he would be. He’s cleaning off a table, and he gives Ashton a sunny smile when he sees him. 

“Hey!” he calls out, waving his towel at Ashton. 

“Hey!” Ashton greets him, trying to keep his mouth from drying out when Calum walks towards him, his eyes sparkling and his grin blinding. “Keeping busy?” Ashton asks him dumbly.

Calum nods. “Yup! And I’m excited to hang out tomorrow, Michael and I were talking about it earlier.”

Ashton raises his eyebrows. Michael was gone when he got up this morning, but he’s nowhere to be seen. He had assumed he was off with Luke. “Oh, is he around?”

Calum looks around and frowns. “You know, he was, but he disappeared.”

Ashton looks over to the employee entrance to the counter and sees Michael peeking out, watching them, before he ducks his head. Ashton sighs and shakes his head. Calum walks around him to get behind the counter. 

“What can I get you?” he asks. “Or are you just here for a visit? Not that I’d mind.”

“Oh. Uh…” He has no idea what to order, suddenly everything he feels like he might want seems like a stupid thing to order when Calum’s looking at him, being so precious with a twinkle in his eye. 

“Coffee?” he says tentatively, feeling suddenly odd, like they’re meeting for the first time. 

“What kind?” Calum asks him. 

“Um….something that...tastes good. Please.”

Calum giggles and nods. “Got it. Hang on.”

He busies himself behind the counter, mixing something together for Ashton, and Ashton looks over to the back room entrance again, his eyes meeting Michael’s, and Michael winks, making a crude gesture with his hands. Ashton rolls his eyes and focuses back on Calum, who’s sliding a drink over the counter for him.

“Thanks!” he says, pulling his wallet out, but Calum shakes his head. 

“On me,” he says, and Ashton’s eyes widen. 

“Are you sure?” he asks.

Calum nods. “I’m sure. You better get me something at the fair, though. This isn’t a one way street.” He winks at Ashton, and it's not fair, almost like a cruel joke when he flirts like that without intent, and Ashton sighs internally for what feels like the millionth time this week. He smiles and thanks Calum again, stumbling out the door.

The coffee is sweet and perfect, just like everything Calum does, but the bitter undertone helps keep Ashton at least a little grounded in reality- it’s time to start mentally preparing for tomorrow, and mentally distancing himself from Calum. Romantically, at least. He’s determined to make this friendship work, and that’ll never happen if he keeps feeling weak every time they make eye contact. 

\----------

“Fucker!” Michael yells, throwing down his hammer. “I’m done spending my money on this, I swear to god, this thing…” He pouts, looking at the whac-a-mole. 

Luke rubs his arm comfortingly. “We can go look at the ducky toss thing?” He suggests gently, pointing at the other game. 

Michael frowns. “No, we can’t. I have to win this, Luke, I have to,” he says stubbornly, handing the carnival worker four more tickets and looking back at the whac-a-mole with a determined look in his eyes. 

Ashton shakes his head. They’re all been watching Michael fail at the game for the past twenty minutes and he’s starting to get antsy, ready to explore the rest of the midway and leave Michael to his losing battle, but he doesn’t want to leave Calum. On the other hand, it might be a good idea, cause he looks ridiculously good tonight. It’s hot out, slightly breezy but still summery, and he’s just got a black tank top on and light jeans that show off his thighs too nicely, forcing Ashton to look up to the sky sometimes to distract himself. 

He shivers in spite of himself, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up when Calum leans over and whispers in his ear, “Do you want to go get something to eat with me?”

Ashton gives another look to Michael, who’s so invested in his game it looks like he won’t even notice their absence, and then to Luke, who glares at him as if daring him to leave him alone with Michael. He shrugs apologetically and turns to Calum, nodding and backing away from the whac-a-mole. 

Calum’s very close to him, while they walk away together towards a snack stand, and despite the warmth of the air Ashton keeps feeling drawn in to him. He buys Calum a caramel apple, paying him back for the free coffee from the day before, and gets himself a chocolate drizzled funnel cake. They find a bench to sit on, munching on their snacks and watching the ferris wheel and all the blinking midway lights. 

“Do you do this every year?” Calum asks. “The fair?”

Ashton nods. “Every year. And every year Michael has the same duel with the whac-a-mole.”

Calum makes a noise of understanding, like he sees now where the emotion behind Michael’s gameplay came from. “How often does he win?”

Ashton shakes his head. “Less often than the whac-a-mole does.”

“I have a feeling it’s going to be a losing year for him,” Calum says with certainty, biting down on a section of apple.

“Oh, do you?” Ashton asks him. 

Calum nods. “I’m a bit of a prophet, sometimes. For instance, I predicted that when you got chocolate sauce on your funnel cake, you’d get it all over your face, and look at you.” He points above Ashton’s eyebrow. 

Ashton frowns. “There’s no way it’s up there,” he protests. 

Calum nods solemnly. “Oh, it’s up there.”

Ashton crosses his arms. “Prove it.”

Calum reaches up and runs a finger over the skin above Ashton’s eye. Ashton feels his face go red. Calum holds out his finger, there’s a little smear of chocolate on it. 

“Don’t let it go to waste, now,” he teases, holding his finger out.

Ashton snorts out a laugh, trying to keep his wits about him, doing his best not to let himself believe Calum’s serious. “I’m not licking that off your finger.”

Calum shugs. “It was worth a try.”

The lights are so pretty, and it’s dusk and that was too flirty to be friendly and it’s all too confusing. Ashton feels his thoughts swirling around in his head and all they keep adding up to is ‘get out before you start thinking of this as a date and ruin everything’.

“Uh,” he clears his throat. “We should probably find Luke and Michael, they’ll be looking for us.”

Calum frowns slightly. “If you want to, I guess?”

Ashton moves to stand, but before he can, Calum speaks again. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” Oh god, he’s been found out. He stared at Calum’s lips for too long. Calum can read minds. He knows Ashton thinks his ass looks edible in his jeans. He knows. 

“Do you always, like… only go on double dates?” Calum asks him.

Wait, what?

“What?” Ashton says dumbly. 

Calum sighs. “I mean, I love Michael and Luke, I really do, but it’s nice to just be able to spend time with you, once in a-”

“With  _ me?”  _ Ashton says incredulously. There’s no way this is happening right now. He feels like he’s missing something. 

“Yes?” Calum says tentatively. “Sorry, am I making sense? It’s just, we went bowling with them the other night, and now this, I didn’t do something wrong the night we went to dinner, did I?”

Ashton stares at him, his eyes travelling from his wide brown eyes to his lips, back to his eyes slowly, feeling like he’s wading through a field of clouds. “You’re dating me?”

Calum looks down. “Oh. I thought I was. Not so sure about that now.” 

“You want to date me?” Ashton confirms, still not quite believing the conversation they’re having is actually happening. 

Calum nods earnestly. “I mean yeah, that’s why I keep asking you out.” He laughs, and it sounds a little bitter, now. “I thought Michael would have mentioned it to you by now, I asked him if you were interested, and it seemed like he was saying you were…”

“I am!” Ashton says loudly, waving his funnel cake around emphatically, and Calum looks up again, his eyes hopeful. 

“You are?”

“Yes!” Ashton almost shouts. “God damn.” He sits back on the bench and shakes his head. 

Calum nods very slowly. “I see what’s happened here.”

“You do?” Ashton asks. He’d love to know, because he’s never been so confused. He’s pretty sure he’s being punked. 

“Yes,” Calum says wisely. “You’re very dumb.”

Ashton pouts. “Does that mean you don’t want to date me anymore?”

Calum shakes his head. “No, it just means I’ll have to be very clear about it from now on.” He looks at Ashton the way someone would look at a toddler, slightly piteous in a way Ashton would only take from Calum. “Ashton. This is a date. As long as that’s okay with you.”

Ashton shrugs, feigning nonchalance and trying very hard to quell the marching band inside his head that’s loudly playing Can’t Fight This Feeling at full volume. “That’s fine.”

Calum smirks. “Good. Do you still want to go find Luke and Michael?”

Ashton shakes his head. “I’m sure they’re fine.”

Calum keeps smirking. “I’m sure they are.”

They settle back into the bench and Calum looks at him. “Does this mean that next time we hang out, we get to be alone?”

“I think that could be a very good idea,” Ashton says, eating his funnel cake with new enthusiasm. 

Calum grins. “Me too.”

Ashton feels a little flustered now, sitting on the bench next to Calum, now that he knows Calum might feel the same way he does, and he chews quietly, his mind reeling over the conversation until Calum breaks the silence. “You have more chocolate on your face.”

Ashton blushes. “It’s decorative.”

Calum shakes his head, smiling softly. “I like you.”

“Who knew,” Ashton says, settling back into the bench happily. The air smells like cotton candy and the sky is pink and Ashton feels his stomach flip flop pleasantly when Calum reaches over and takes his hand, lacing their fingers together gently and giving him a shy sort of smile. He squeezes Calum’s hand in reassurance and they both watch the ferris wheel turn, sitting in a comfortable silence for a while. 

When it starts to get darker, and the breeze grows stronger, they wander through the crowds unhurriedly, fingers still intertwined, until they stumble across Michael and Luke. 

“Finally!” Michael says when he sees them. “Are we ready to-” he cuts off when he sees their hands and grins. “And finally for that, too!” he says, elbowing Luke, who’s carrying a huge stuffed duck, in the side and pointing to their hands. “It’s a good night! What happened, you had to tell him, didn’t you?” He directs the question to Calum, who nods.

“Pretty much,” he says. “You were right.”

“Always am,” Michael tells him with a smug grin. “Lets go, I wanna beat traffic out of here.” He starts to walk quickly towards the parking lot, the other three trailing behind them.

“Aside from being smug and saying I told you so, which I’m gonna do a lot, I am happy for you guys,” Luke tells them, balancing his duck in one arm and his bag of cotton candy in the other, his lips stained pink from the sugar.

“Thanks,” Ashton says. “What’s the duck from?”

“Oh,  _ Michael won it for me at the whac-a-mole!”  _ Luke says loudly, so Michael can hear him, and then whispers to them afterwards, “he had to pay the guy 20 bucks, we’re not talking about it.”

They’re all still giggling when they reach the car, Michael blissfully unaware, and they pile in, Calum and Ashton in the backseat again. Ashton’s having a hard time getting himself to stop grinning, feels like his heart could burst. Luke and Michael are talking and laughing in the front seat, Luke giving the stuffed duck a deep, goofy voice and teasing Michael with it, Michael giggling and shaking his head. Calum’s hand is on his again and when he looks over, Calum’s smiling just as big. Ashton thinks there’s never been a time he’s felt this lucky in his life, than in this moment, with the windows down, flooding the car with cool air as they speed down the highway, his hand in Calum’s and that smile on Calum’s face because of him. Because Calum wants  _ him. _

Michael pulls up in front of Calum’s apartment first, as he usually does, and Calum looks over at Ashton, biting his lip. “I’ll see you soon?” he asks, and Ashton nods emphatically. Calum smiles and makes to get out of the car, but seems to think better of it, leaning in and giving Ashton a delicate kiss on the cheek. Ashton feels himself blush and smile even harder. Every nerve in his body seems like it’s on fire. The car door shuts and Michael and Luke both twist in their seats, looking back at him with twin expressions of excitement.

“Okay, tell us everything, leave out nothing. I’ve put way too much energy into this, I’m basically part of…” Michael’s voice trails into white noise as Ashton brings his fingers up to trace his cheek where Calum had kissed him, and suddenly he’s cutting Michael off. “Wait here, okay? I won’t be long, just hang on.” Michael raises his eyebrows but waves him off and Ashton opens the car door and runs after Calum, who’s almost at his door now.

“Hey!” he shouts, and Calum turns around. Ashton almost loses his nerve, walking up to him. Calum’s illuminated by the soft gold light from his porch, and it makes him look otherworldly, his eyes reflecting golden and his lips parted while he looks at Ashton. The only thing that keeps Ashton moving forward is the expression on his face, the way he looks back at Ashton with hope and want and anticipation. Ashton reaches him and he’s panting only slightly from running, looking from Calum’s eyes to his lips and back again.

“What, um. Did you forget something?” Calum asks him, and it’s slightly breathy, like he can’t find his whole voice. He’s backed up against his front door, and Ashton takes another step into his space, hears Calum sigh and watches his eyes slip closed before Ashton presses their lips together, kissing him like he’s been dreaming of doing for weeks. Calum sighs again, kissing him back, slow and gentle and sweet until Ashton swipes his tongue against his and he whines quietly into his mouth, pulling back for air and then slotting their lips together again. He tastes sweet, like caramel apple and his hips are soft where Ashton’s hands are resting, and he feels like he could get lost like this. 

A loud honk interrupts them and Calum pulls back with a giggle, eyes shining. “I think your ride is getting impatient,” he murmurs. Ashton frowns, leaning in for another kiss, which Calum returns easily. “Don’t care.”

Michael honks again and Ashton groans, letting his head fall to Calum’s shoulder, leaving a kiss on his neck while he’s there. He hears Calum’s breath hitch before he talks. “Better go, I’ll get a noise complaint from the neighbors.” He guides Ashton’s mouth back to his, kissing him one last time before he’s gently pushing at his chest, forcing him to take a step back. Ashton could cry at the way Calum looks after he’s been kissed, soft and sweet and so sexy, and Calum smiles at him, head lolling back against his door. 

“See you soon, Ash,” he tells him, before he pushes himself off the door, and unlocks it, stepping inside. Ashton races back to the car, couldn’t walk normally if he tried, throwing himself in the backseat and grinning while Michael speeds off, whooping behind the steering wheel. 

\----------

**Calum :): I’m outside**

Ashton makes a panicked noise in his throat when he looks at his phone. 

“Why are you so nervous?” Michael asks from his doorway, where he’s leaning casually and watching Ashton get ready. “You’ve been on like four dates at this point.”

Ashton huffs. “Yes, but I didn’t know those were dates. Now I know. That’s the problem,” he explains, straightening out his shirt and looking in the mirror worriedly. 

Michael clicks his tongue. “You want me to give you the worst case scenario?”

“No,” Ashton tells him, sitting on the bed, running his hands through his hair. It usually looks better a little messy. The only problem is, what if he makes it too messy without knowing? What if he messes it out of control and it looks like a bird’s nest and Calum stares at it all night wondering why in god’s name Ashton doesn’t brush his hair, and how he ever could have gone out with-

“The worst case scenario is that he’s mad at you because you take way too long getting outside right now,” Michael says, interrupting his train of thought. 

Ashton huffs. “Great. So he’s gonna hate me.”

Michael shakes his head. “Let me finish. Best case scenario is he obviously already likes you, you go out and you have a great time and stop being so anxious," he says, looking at the way Ashton’s wringing his hands with a pointed expression. 

“I’m not anxious!” He defends himself. 

Michael nods. “My mistake. You’re right. Look at you, a ball of ease.”

“A ball of it?” Ashton squints. “You’re a ball of...whatever. I’m going. I’m leaving.” He gets up and crosses to the door, walking past Michael. He looks back at him before he’s out of sight. “Dig me a shallow grave.”

“Weird request,” Michael calls after him. 

Ashton goes to the front door and takes a deep breath before opening it. Calum’s standing there looking like every one of Ashton’s dreams combined into one perfect, snuggly,  _ hot  _ little present that someone dropped off for him. 

“Hey,” Calum says, grinning at him.

“Hey!” Ashton greets him back, shutting the door behind himself as he steps over the threshold. “Hey, sorry I took a sec.”

Calum shakes his head. “No, you’re fine. You look great,” he says, and Ashton feels himself blush, willing it to go away as his face turns pink. 

He shrugs. “Had to make sure I didn’t have anything on my face. You know I’m prone to it,” he jokes, referencing the other night when he’d gotten chocolate sauce on his face. Calum, however, raises his eyebrows suggestively, crossing his arms and looking Ashton up and down. 

“Is that so?” he says softly, and Ashton huffs out a small laugh that seems very ingenuine, he’s sure, considering the thoughts running through his head at Calum’s tone. He walks towards Calum’s car instead of answering, and Calum clicks it open so he can let himself in. He’s buckling himself in when Calum slides into the driver’s seat, starting the engine and connecting his phone to the aux cord. He shuffles through his music for a moment before he lands on a Simple Creatures song and glances over at Ashton, running a hand through his hair. 

“You like them, right?” he asks. 

Ashton smiles at him. “You remembered.”

Caum nods as they start to drive. “Memory’s not usually a strong point for me, but I seem to be making exceptions when it comes to you.”

Ashton smiles to himself, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. 

“So,” Calum says as they turn a corner. “To make things very clear here, Ashton, this is a date.”

Ashton nods. “I know, you told me when you texted me.” It’s still hard to believe, if he’s honest, but Calum has nothing to gain from lying to him, so he’s accepting it for the time being. 

“Well, you can never be too transparent, I’ve learned,” Calum explains, and Ashton supposes he’s right. 

“I guess that’s true.”

“So, can I ask you something?” Calum questions him as they turn into the theater parking lot. 

“Shoot,” he says, studying the side of Calum’s face as he pulls into a parking spot, killing the engine. Calum turns to look at Ashton and Ashton finds himself, for what has to be the millionth time in his life, rendered speechless by the curve of his lips and the way his eyes sparkle in dim light. 

“Before we move past this,” Calum says, and Ashton forces himself to pay attention. “I need to make sure, like...this isn’t one sided.” Ashton frowns and tilts his head to the side, utterly confused. Is Calum trying to tell him he’s not sure if he’s into Ashton yet? That this is a test run to see if he’s actually interested? Maybe this is a warning to Ashton not to get too invested in Calum when he doesn’t even know if he wants to be here at all. 

Calum sighs. “I know you kissed me last night and everything, and you said you were into me but I just…” 

“What?” Ashton frowns, looking down at his lap. He ponders briefly how long it would take to walk back to the apartment from here, if Calum breaks his heart right now. 

“Well, Michael insists you liked me for a while but I just...you never asked  _ me  _ out.” Calum says, frowning slightly as his doe eyes run over Ashton’s face searchingly.

“ _ Oh,”  _ Ashton breathes, his brow furrowed as he tries his best to make sense of what Calum’s saying, because it  _ almost  _ sounds like...

“So I thought…” Calum continues while Ashton gapes at him. “I don’t know, I just want to make sure I’m not making a fool out of myself here.” 

“Calum,” Ashton breathes, shaking his head. “I’ve wanted this from the second I laid eyes on you, I never said anything cause... _ look at you.”  _ He gestures to Calum vaguely, not even knowing where to point to first, every part of him looks like heaven. “You’re out of my league.” He whispers the last part, almost embarrassed to say it out loud, for fear that Calum will realize he’s right and forget the whole date, but Calum’s looking at him with a lost expression. 

“You’re joking,” he says, shaking his head. “Have you seen you?”

Of course he’s seen himself. Sure, he’s passably cute, but Calum’s stunning in an almost princely way that Ashton can only dream of achieving. And right now he’s looking at Ashton with that stunning face like he’s just said the dumbest thing he’s ever heard in his life. 

“Ashton, you...you’re…” he looks almost pained, and Ashton barely has time to register why before Calum’s pulling him in for a kiss, effectively shutting down every thought in his mind except the one about how perfect Calum’s lips tasted the last time he had them that’s been running through his brain since he sat in the passenger seat fifteen minutes ago. He gasps into Calum’s mouth when their tongues brush together and Calum moans slightly before he pulls back, his voice low and husky when he speaks, so close to Ashton’s lips. 

“You’re so fucking  _ hot,  _ of course I want you,” he purrs, capturing Ashton’s lips again and moving his hand to his chest, running it down the front of Ashton’s shirt while he strokes their tongues together, before bringing it up to grip at Ashton’s bicep, and then his jaw. Ashton feels like putty, kissing back for all he’s worth, the softness of Calum’s lips sending him into a state of blissful euphoria that he never wants to leave. Calum’s making the most beautiful noises, little gasps and moans and sighs that Ashton wants painted into his memory for the rest of his life. He feels hot all over, like he’d lose touch with reality if he stopped touching Calum for a moment, but just as that thought runs through his mind, so does the fact that they’re in a public parking lot, and that they’ve already paid for their movie tickets. 

“Baby…” he whispers against Calum’s mouth, testing it out, hoping to god he’s allowed to call Calum something sweet, something he deserves, and Calum seems to love it, making a pleased little noise against his lips when he goes back in for another kiss. 

“We’re gonna miss the movie,” Ashton mumbles, kissing him again, biting Calum’s lip slightly and Calum absolutely melts at that, whimpering into his mouth and pouting when Ashton pulls back. He looks dazed, his pupils blown and his lips wet. He huffs out a little sigh, shaking his head a little. It seems to clear his mind because even though he’s still slightly pouting, he nods. 

“Movie. Right, lets see the movie,” he whispers, still staring at Ashton’s lips. Ashton sighs and leans in again, kissing him one last time before he pulls away for good, opening the car door and letting the breeze outside wash over him, cooling down his body only slightly before Calum meets him and slides their hands together, intertwining their fingers and holding his hand tight. They walk into the lobby of the theater together, hand in hand, and Ashton insists on paying for his popcorn and Calum’s Milk Duds, as Calum had bought the tickets. Calum lets him, a pleased expression on his face as Ashton pays. 

The theater is already dark when they settle into their chairs in the very back, and as they watch the previews, the air between them feels charged. Ashton knows Calum has to be thinking about the car, they’ve barely said a word since then, and he knows his mind hasn't left the passenger seat of Calum’s Jeep. He can hear Calum breathing next to him, can hear every time he shifts in his chair, and he wonders if he’s still turned on like Ashton is, if he’s paying attention to the screen at all. Calum’s leg brushes against him in the dark and his breathing hitches, he feels starved for his touch even though it’s only been a few minutes since Calum let go of his hand. 

He tries his best to focus his attention on the movie that’s starting, but his gaze keeps drifting to his right, where Calum’s chewing on his candy slowly. His mouth probably tastes so sweet. Calum looks over then, catching Ashton staring at him, and he smirks, popping another Milk Dud in his mouth and hollowing his cheeks while he sucks. Ashton breathes heavily, looking back at the screen and trying to keep his eyes glued to it, a task that proves impossible when Calum starts shifting more than he was before, and Ashton looks over to find he’s taking off his sweater, leaving only a thin tank underneath. His eyes travel to Calum’s, who’s wearing an innocent expression, blinking at Ashton in the dark before he whispers.

“It’s hot in here.”

The thing is, it isn't, it’s kind of chilly, and he can see Calum’s nipples through his shirt and it’s very distracting. He gulps, taking a sip of his slushie, his eyes still on Calum’s body, refusing to go back to the screen even though his brain is telling them to. 

“Yeah,” he whispers. “Hot.”

“Yeah,” Calum agrees. He holds out his box of candy to Ashton, offering him one, but Ashton shakes his head. Calum shrugs and pops another one in his mouth. Ashton looks back at the screen for a second and then back at Calum, who hasn’t stopped looking at him. 

Calum leans in close to him and Ashton can feel the heat of his breath on his neck, the hairs on his arm standing up as Calum whispers, “You’re distracted.” He bites gently at the shell of Ashton’s ear and Ashton gasps, shakes his head a little, gripping the armrest next to him tightly. 

“No?” Calum asks, staying just as close. 

Ashton breathes out heavily. “N-no.”

Calum kisses his neck gently and Ashton sighs. “No?” he asks, and it almost sounds mocking when he says it. “What's happening?” he sucks Ashton’s earlobe into his mouth, running his tongue over it hotly, and Ashton feels his dick twitch in his pants. 

“Huh?” he rasps. 

“The movie.” Calum clarifies, What’s happening?

Ashton’s grip on the arm rest tightens. “I...uh…”

Calum bites at his neck, running his tongue over the side of it, and his hand wanders into Ashton’s lap, gripping his thigh and squeezing. 

“No fucking clue,” Ashton whispers, turning to kiss Calum in the dark, their lips finally meeting again. He kisses him only once before he pulls away to push up the armrest in between them, pulling Calum further into him and finding his lips again, their tongues meeting. Calum whines into his mouth and Ashton’s hand falls to his hip, squeezing gently as a warning to be quiet but it only makes Calum whimper a little louder and to be honest Ashton’s having trouble caring. He rubs his hands over Calum’s hips, greedy, his fingers slipping under his tank to stroke at the soft warmth of his skin. Calum’s hand keeps rubbing over his thigh, getting closer and closer to his inseam, like he’s testing how far he’s allowed to go.

“Ash, can I…” he whispers against Ashton’s mouth and Ashton nods quickly, kissing him deeply. 

“Anything, anything you want, you have me,” he mumbles, sucking on Calum’s full bottom lip. 

Calum whines low and he’s clearly trying to be quiet so they go undetected by the people a few rows in front of them. He fits his hand over Ashton’s dick through his pants, rubbing him over the denim. Ashon whimpers in his mouth, sucking on his tongue. His hands drift lower, cupping Calum’s ass and squeezing. Calum makes a tiny little pleased noise into his mouth and pushes back into his hands, gently swinging one leg over his lap, his mouth never leaving Ashton’s. He grinds against him gently, still rubbing him over his jeans. 

It’s the hottest Ashton’s ever felt, the cool air of the theater doing nothing to help as he runs his hands over Calum’s body, touching everywhere, Calum’s lips burning on his and his hips ticking up into Calum’s hand where it’s feeling out the shape of him under his jeans. Calum seems to be almost just as overwhelmed, little gasps falling from his lips as he grinds erratically against Ashton’s thigh. Ashton can feel him hard against his leg, and  _ he  _ did that,  _ he  _ made Calum hard. That knowledge could fuel him for the rest of his life.

It feels like everything is moving in fast forward, like he's too turned on for how long he's been touching Calum, and if he wasn't getting it back just the same, he might be embarrassed at how gone he is.

Calum whispers in the darkness, trying desperately to keep his voice down. “...want...I want-”

“What do you want?” Ashton presses, kissing him hard before trailing his mouth down Calum’s neck, giving him room to talk. 

Calum whines lowly as Ashton sucks on the skin of his neck, panting as he murmurs, “Do you wanna...can we go back to the car?”

Ashton feels like he might combust, the reality of what Ca’s asking hits him and he almost groans, licking into his mouth as he nods. Calum’s hand squeezes his cock and even though he had asked, he makes no signs of getting up, seeming almost content to just stay here and keep touching Ashton over his clothes, keep kissing him in this dark, dusty theater until their lips go numb, but now that Ashton has the car back in his head, he’s not willing to compromise. 

“The car?” he prompts Calum, who seems to remember then what he asked. 

“Mmm, yeah, he moans softly, “want you to fuck me. Need you to…”

Ashton gasps into his mouth, his cock twitching and pulsing where Calum’s hand is still steadily rubbing over it. No one’s this forward, he thinks, but he loves it, and he nods again, feeling like he must be caught in a fantasy dream, that this has to be too good to be true. 

“Yeah,  _ yeah,  _ come on, baby, let’s go,” he urges, taking Calum’s hand and standing up, thanking god that it’s dark in the theater and he doesn’t have to worry about the obvious tent in his jeans while he walks quickly down the aisle, Calum following him, their hands laced together again. They walk quickly through the lobby, doing their best to avoid the stares of the movie theater employees.

Calum guides him straight into the backseat, diving in after him and shutting the door behind himself before he turns around to face Ashton. Ashton’s leaning back against the car door, his legs spread as much as they can be, and he’s breathing heavily in anticipation. Calum shuffles over to him, straddling him, and kisses him deeply, his hand falling to the zip of Ashton’s jeans and working it open. Ashton lifts his hips and helps Calum pull them off his hips, leaving his lower half exposed. Calum reaches down and takes his dick in his hand, and Ashton whimpers at the touch, gazing down at where Calum’s stroking him. 

Calum makes a needy little noise and pushes himself back slightly on Ashton’s lap, bending over and licking at the head of his cock a few times before he takes it in his mouth, sucking between panting breaths, like he’s overwhelmed but he still needs it, needs to taste Ashton. 

“Cal, Calum, god, you’re so…” he cuts off with a gasp when Calum sucks harder, kissing down his cock before he pulls away, rummaging in the back pocket of the passenger seat until he finds condoms and a small bottle of lube. 

Ashton pants, watching Calum as he shimmies out of his own jeans as quickly as he can, spreading lube over two of his fingers and reaching behind himself. His face is a picture of bliss as he grinds back on his own fingers, and Ashton watches him, his hand wandering down to his own cock and pumping it while he watches, getting himself off to the image of Calum on top of him. His other hand wanders Calum’s body, pushing his tank up so he can run his hand down his chest, down to his dick, touching Calum while he fingers himself.

“Will you...can I help?” he breathes, desperate to feel what Calum’s feeling right now, to know how warm and soft and tight he is inside. 

Calum leans in and kisses him, smiling into his mouth before he pulls back and nods. “Yeah, Ash, you gonna open me up? Get me ready to take your cock?”

Ashton whimpers. “ _ Fuck.”  _ He grabs the lube from the seat next to him and coats his fingers in it reaching a hand around Calum’s body, finding where his fingers are pushing in and out of his hole and he guides them away, replacing them with his own. Calum mewls and slumps forward slightly, pushing back onto Ashton 

“Mmm, god, yeah,” he mutters, leaning in to kiss Ashton, biting his bottom lip. Ashton kisses him back, running his unoccupied hand down to his cock and stroking it, the pressure building too much for him to take without being touched. 

He hears the crinkling of a foil wrapper and looks down at Calum’s hands. He takes the condom out of the package and pushes Ashton’s hand aside, rolling it onto his cock and stroking it a few times. Ashton moans at the touch and bucks up into Calum’s hand, kissing him while he groans. 

Calum shuffles forward, lining up Ashton’s dick with his entrance, sinking down slowly onto him. It’s almost too much, the way he feels, how god it is, how hot everything is, and he can hear himself making noises he has no control over. Fortunately Calum is moaning loud enough to drown them out, his body working in little figure eights in Ashton’s lap. He clearly loves this, loves being fucked, and god, that’s so  _ hot.  _

Calum keeps bouncing on his dick, going faster now, and he’s looking down at Ashton, whining and moaning. His brows are furrowed and his full lips are parted, he looks like absolute heaven. Ashton traces his face with his fingers, in awe of him, so hard inside him, and Calum turns his head to take two of his fingers in his mouth, sucking on them while he rides Ashton’s dick. 

“You feel so good,” Ashton croaks, grinding up into him, and Calum whines, Ashton’s fingers falling from his mouth when he tilts his head back, moaning soft and airy. 

“You’re so big,” he pants, “so good, so big inside of me.”

Ashton isn’t going to last, he’s gasping underneath Calum, cock so hard and leaking where its buried inside his perfect ass, twitching every time he grinds down.

“Calum,  _ oh fuck, oh god, yeah,  _ Calum, I'm gonna fucking-” he’s on the edge, teetering on the brink of bliss, and he’s doing his best to hold it off, to give it more time because this is everything he’s ever wanted. 

Calum moans and leans down to kiss him, whispering filthily into his mouth. “Mmm, yeah. Gonna fill me up?” 

Ashton knows it's not true, he knows he’s wearing a condom but the idea of filling Calum up with his cum makes him groan and fuck up into him. Calums clearly getting off on it too, grinding harder, his voice becoming more breathy. “God, yeah, fucking me so good with your big fucking cock, gonna cum in me so hard, make me take it,” he whispers into Ashton’s mouth. 

“Yeah,  _ yeah _ ,” Ashton breathes, his hips fucking up quickly into Calum, “oh fuck, I'm cumming, I'm-”

He moans as he reaches his peak, pulsing hard inside Calum with a growl, his hands squeezing Calum’s hips like a lifeline, pulling him down hard on his cock. Calum keeps going for a minute, grinding down on Ashton's dick and stroking his own. Ashton’s still coming back down to Earth, blinking hazily in the aftershocks but he reaches out when his eyes focus on Calum’s hand, and he swats it away, taking Calum’s cock in his and pumping it. Calum whines and shudders, cumming all over his tummy while he grinds back on Ashton’s softening dick. 

Ashton kisses him, and Calum kisses back weakly, slumping against his chest and sighing. Ashton strokes his hair, pressing a kiss to it sleepily. Calum lets out a happy little noise before he frowns. “Oops.”

“Hm?” Ashton asks, fingers playing mindlessly with a stray curl. 

“I left my sweater in there.”

\----------

Early the next week, Ashton walks into the Jumping Bean. Calum’s helping someone with their drink order so he leans on the counter, head in hands, and watches him. He looks beautiful, he always does, but there’s an extra bit of admiration that comes along with knowing that he’s Ashton’s. He’s wearing a dark red shirt under his apron and his hair is soft and unstyled, begging for Ashton to run his hand through it. He’s handing over a to go cup to an elderly lady, flashing her a sweet smile before he gives her a little wave goodbye and heads over to where Ashton’s leaning. 

Calum kisses him in greeting, lingering on Ashton’s lips for a moment before he pulls away. Ashton looks at him with dazed eyes, his gaze running over Calum’s face reverently. 

“Coffee?” Calum asks him. 

Ashton sighs. “Mmm. Something sweet.”

Calum grins, leaning in to kiss him again and he makes a happy little noise, melting into it. They kiss for a moment before Ashton hears a throat clear next to them and they part. Michael’s standing there, eyebrows raised, and Calum smiles at him, winking at Ashton and going to make his drink.

“You guys are gross,” Michael tells him, carefully refilling a sugar shaker. 

Ashton hums absentmindedly, watching Calum pour syrup into a blender. He supposes they might come on a bit strong to the average viewer, but he defies anyone to have a boyfriend like Calum Hood and not go starry-eyed half the time he’s around. Or three fourths. 

“I’m happy for you though, you know,” Michael tells him. “It sure took long enough.”

Ashton shrugs, smiling when Calum looks over at him and grins, stirring something into his cup. “I think it was perfect.”

And to them, it was. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> For some reason this took me forever and ever to write and ended up being the very cheesiest thing I've ever come up with. Let me know what you think!!! And any suggestions for future ships or fics are always welcome. 
> 
> [Come talk to me on tumblr](http://reversecow.tumblr.com)


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